lol giving in now? i still recommend balanced amp over minibox if just for the possibility to run balanced cable.....

I still do not clearly understand the benefit of balanced...and really do not want to upgrade all my cables. Anyways I am happy with ak120 with 1.21 plus Listrid...and I might have the ak120 modded to perfect it further. Because the form factor is important to me. I sold the dx100 because of the brick aspect so buying 901 does not seem reasonable...but are we ever

I am getting the HM-901 with Balanced amp only. My brother is in China, and orders it for me ...

Even though I might not use the balanced amp in balanced mode always, it's nice to be able to drive headphones balanced.

I already have TRRS plug cable for my HE-6 plus an extra TRRS plug for use with the LCD-2 (via adapter cable and reterminating the original cable). My UM Miracle can be driven balanced via an aftermarket cable (from Double Helix Cables for instance) with TRRS. This means that my best IEM and HP's can benefit from being driven balanced.

I still might consider getting the IEM amp card for use with Miracle though because I expect it to eat much less battery ... which means the aftermarket cable with TRRS plug for the Miracle needs an adapter too. Hmmm.

I still do not clearly understand the benefit of balanced...and really do not want to upgrade all my cables. Anyways I am happy with ak120 with 1.21 plus Listrid...and I might have the ak120 modded to perfect it further. Because the form factor is important to me. I sold the dx100 because of the brick aspect so buying 901 does not seem reasonable...but are we ever

I went thru this exact same rationalization and thought process so I completely understand.... was pretty contend with the DAP side until a fateful Monday afternoon I when went to Jaben to try out the Parterre, took a detour to try the 901 again (which I tried earlier), this time A/Bing with AK120 on the er4s.......

The deal-breaker for DX100 for me is the unresponsive UI... not sure if the smartphone-seque screen with Andriod drew unfair comparison with my quad-core Note2 or it really is that slow, I really don't like using it. 901's UI while primitive, it is actually quite effective.

I'm most surprised myself to now owning this brick but I'm happy I did! It does has plenty of flaws but the sound I get made them mostly forgiven....

Below is my response to another member asking for opinion of AK120 vs HM-901:

PM response:

If sound is the only criteria, definitely HM-901 with the balanced amp board. If anything, the more time I spent the harder it is for me to "go back" to the AK120 sound from the HM-901. You may choose to balance your IEM cables or not to get the extra soundstage benefits, but even with single ended cable IEM 901/w balanced board is still clearly superior to me.

But you need to know the 901's other aspects, while solid, will not be on AK100/AK120's level:

If sound is the only criteria, definitely HM-901 with the balanced amp board. If anything, the more time I spent the harder it is for me to "go back" to the AK120 sound from the HM-901. You may choose to balance your IEM cables or not to get the extra soundstage benefits, but even with single ended cable IEM 901/w balanced board is still clearly superior to me.

But you need to know the 901's other aspects, while solid, will not be on AK100/AK120's level:

- physical size and appearance

- build and finishing

- UI aesthetics (responsiveness/effectiveness is on par though)

- battery life

- firmware stability

Well, put. I absolutely agree.

Also, note the difference in price. The AK120 costs significantly more than the HM-901. Although, one could argue that if they are to be the same, for the HM-901 to compete feature to feature with the AK120, you need to have the optional Dock for the HM-901, which then puts them much closer in price, with the HM-901 actually costing more.

As it stands, there is no way to have direct USB DAC function with the HM-901 without the optional Dock. With the latest firmware, the AK120, just plug a micro USB cable to a computer and boom. It works.

Hopefully the HM-901 will have a firmware update that will allow Asynchronous USB connection directly to the HM-901 without the need for a dock, with at the least a USB dongle cable.

Also, for the HM-901 to sound it's best, people have reported that the Balanced amp is clearly better than the Standard one, which adds to the price. However, it is possible to buy the HM-901 with the Balanced amp only. This "package" is about $1200. The IEM amp is still not on the market and I don't know it's price either.

For me the USB DAC function is nice to have, but not necessary. If one really want this function for use with a laptop, then there is the option to use the provided S/PDIF input adaptor cable and then buy a USB-to-S/PDIF converter. These can be small and not too expensive.

I would really like to know how the 901 + Minibox fares. You can get the combo on Taobao for 1150 (without the standard amp card). I am satisfied with the AK120, truly, but if I was to try 901, I would not want to upgrade my cables to balanced. So if the Minibox is a good / better than balances amp single ended that would be nice.

I had the Minibox E+ amp couple years ago and if it's the same as the Minibox Card (I think someone said it was) then it's probably not a good match for low impedance IEMs. The E+ was designed for the er4s in mind (and the er4p w/ the 75ohm adapter).

The balance card would be a better choice even for single-ended IEMs, IMO.